The Hebrew and Greek that is translated with “clothes” or similar in English is translated in Enlhet as “crawling-in-stuff” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ) and in Noongar as bwoka or “Kangaroo skin” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 15:27:
Kupsabiny: “Any person who has touched those things is unclean an he must wash his clothes and bathe and that person is unclean until sunset.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Whoever touches these things, he/she will be unclean. He/she must wash his/her clothes and must also bathe him/herself. He/she will be unclean until evening time.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “And whoever touches those-(things) will-become dirty/unclean. He must launder his clothes and he bathe, but he is- still -to-be-considered dirty/unclean until (it) becomes-twilight/dusk.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Anyone who touches those things should not touch anyone else; he must wash his clothes and bathe, and he should not touch anyone else until that evening.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
These things: in some cases it may be better to specify once again “such a bed or such a seat” or “these things on which she has placed her body.”
Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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